Fred Meet's His Match
by Lioness6
Summary: Fred meet's a muggle who has his same sence of humour.
1. Fred Goes Shopping

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters. Fred Meets His Match  
  
Chapter One  
  
It was late in fall. Fred Weasely and his brother George were just finishing doing some inventory on a new shipment of exploding golf balls they had just received that afternoon. Fred held one up to the light to examine it. "We have some quality merchandise here George." Fred remarked as he put the ball back in its box. George grinned.  
  
Their business had taken off remarkably well after they had graduated. Thanks to the money that their friend Harry had given them, they not only had been able to start up a business in the wizarding world, but as that proved successful they had opened shops among the muggles as well. Nothing that would cause the ministry to get after them, just things like dribble glasses, teapot's with no hole in their spout, and these golf balls that when hit with a club broke open and left the golfer in a cloud of powder.  
  
Fred put the last of the shipment onto the display counter. He was just cutting up the box when George who had been keeping an eye on the counter reminded him that it was Arthur Weasely, their fathers birthday today. Ever since they had started selling their products to muggles, they had made it a habit to buy their father something from the muggle world. Last year George had the honor of picking out the present. He had bought him a color TV. with a remote control. This year Fred decided since it was his turn, to buy him a DVD player. They were all the rage among the muggles. George had told him that the place where he had bought the TV. also sold DVD players and movies to go with them.  
  
Fred left the store to go check out the place his brother had mentioned. It was only about half a block from their establishment and was easy to find. It was a family run business called Ray's electronics. The store was empty except for a young blonde lady that stood behind the counter, organizing small plastic boxes that each had different names on them.  
  
The lady looked up as Fred approached. She had a nametag on that read Christine. Fred cleared his throat. "Hello Christine. I hope you can help me. I'm looking for a DVD player for my dad." Christine smiled. "We have plenty of those in stock. Have you any idea of what brand name you would like?" Fred was stumped. He didn't have a clue what she was talking about. He improvised. "I really don't know much about this sort of thing. Perhaps you can suggest one for me?" The lady led him to a room that held many of what he recognized as TV's. Stacked beside them were what he assumed was what he was looking for.  
  
It didn't take long and Christine had the machine she figured would be his best choice hooked up to one of the TV's. Fred was startled when it turned on. "Dad is defiantly going to love this!" He stated. Christine smiled. "So this is for your father? What a nice gift!"  
  
Fred helped Christine pack up the DVD player and carried it to the counter. Christine typed in the price of the DVD player into the cash register. "You will probably want to get him some movies to go with it as well. We have a good selection of them on sale." Christine showed him some of the boxes that she had been organizing earlier. "What kind of movies does your dad like?" For the second time since entering that store, Fred was stumped. He truly didn't have a clue.  
  
Christine looked at the nice looking young man in front of her. He obviously was not familiar with movies. 'Where did he come from that he would not have seen many movies?' She thought. "Does he like comedies, romance, westerns, action/ adventure?" She hedged. The young man looked ready to panic. "How about one of each?" he asked. Christine helped him pick out 4 of her favorite movies.  
  
Fred paid her and was just about to leave with his purchase when she called out. "By the way, what's your name? I could have sworn we met before." Fred smiled. "The names Fred. Fred Weasely. I own with my brother the joke shop just down the block." Christine smiled. "Well Fred, it was nice to meet you. I hope we see each other again soon." Fred left the store with a thought that it may be sooner than either of them anticipated. 


	2. Lunch Date

Chapter Two  
  
Christine Adams locked her door as she left the shop to go for lunch. She had had a busy morning, especially with that young red headed man. She could have sworn he'd never gone to see a movie before. As she was walking to the café that she liked to frequent for lunch, she saw a most unusual shop. She'd never noticed it there last time she'd walked by. She read the sign. Weasely's Wheezes. That was the name of the young man who had visited her store.  
  
Just out of curiosity, she entered. She found herself surrounded with the most bizarre assortment of joke items she had ever seen. She picked up a jar that looked innocent. On the label it said, sneeze powder. It looked just like talc. She smiled. So this was what he'd meant. When he said joke shop. There were all kinds of items. Jelly beans of the most unusual flavor. On one of the counters was an assortment of earrings that promised to turn the ears of who ever wore them blue.  
  
She turned about to go out the door when she saw him. "Oh hello Fred." George smiled. He loved playing this game. "I'm not Fred. He's Fred!" Christine turned around and there he was. 'Twins!' She thought. What next.  
  
Fred came over to her and shook her hand. "Nice to see you again. What brings you here?" Christine liked his smile. "I was just headed over for some lunch when I passed by your shop. I was curious." Fred grinned. "So did you see anything you like?" Christine blushed. "Actually I do."  
  
Fred was startled. Could this young lady be insinuating what he thought she was? He was flattered. And interested. "Listen! I have yet to have my lunch either. Would you do me the honor of keeping me company for lunch?" He held his breath. Christine shyly accepted his offer, and with a wave to his brother George, Fred left with Christine.  
  
They chose a nice pub close by. Fred asked Christine how she had gotten into the business. "My father left it to me when he retired. It originally belonged to him and my uncle, but he bought him out when my uncle had a small heart attack. I enjoy it. I can make my own hours." Christine scrutinized Fred. "Now tell me. What ever inspired you and your brother to open a joke shop?" Fred laughed. "The generosity of a good friend, and an unstoppable need to make people laugh. Actually, we own several of them. This is the only one in the area though. We even have one in Canada."  
  
Christine was amazed. "You must be very good at it then. The business that is." Fred smiled. He liked Christine. So what if she was a muggle. There were lots of good muggle people around. He decided then and there to make sure that he saw her again. "Christine. I enjoyed having lunch with you very much. I'd like to get to know you better. Would you consent to go out with me again in the future? Say Saturday, for dinner?" Fred held his breath. He didn't have to hold it very long. Christine smiled. "Only if you promise to let me take you to a movie before dinner. There is one playing at the theater I've been dying to see." Fred agreed. They exchanged phone numbers and each went back to work.  
  
George laughed at the silly grin on his brother's face. He'd seen that look on his fathers face to know what it meant. 


	3. Arthur's Birthday And Other Surprises

Chapter Three  
  
Fred and George arrived at their parents place at five o'clock sharp. They knew better then to be late for dinner. Dinner started at five o'clock, weather you were there or not. Their mother had taught them well. One day, Fred had arrived to a meal to find only sprouts left. His mother put them on the table at every meal for just such an occurrence. Fred and George normally ate at their own flats, but on birthdays, and Sunday's, and any other holiday you could think of, Dinner was always held at their parent's house.  
  
Today was a special day. Today was their fathers 60th birthday. Fred had the DVD magically wrapped in funny paper. It was purple with yellow polka dot's. It was resistant to tearing. The person who got this gift would have to use magic to open it. Fred put the gift down and with every one else headed for dinner.  
  
His mother had out did herself. They had roast chickens with stuffing and roast potatoes in their skins. There was corn on the cob, peas, and of coarse sprouts. With a toast from their pumpkin juice glasses, they wished their dad happy birthday. Every one tucked in. The meal was excellent as usual. With a wave of her wand Molly Weasely set the dishes to clean themselves. They all headed to the living room, were there was a heap of presents. Arthur looked at them excitedly. "Are these all for me?" He asked. He picked up a small one. It was from Percy. It contained a gold mechanical pen with refills. Arthur examined it. He loved all things muggle. Harry and Ginny had given him a book about recent muggle artifacts. Charlie gave him a nice pair of dragon skin shoes. Bill had sent him a parcel containing papyri written by the ancient Egyptians. Ron had given him a nice carved set of wizard chess pieces. Molly gave him a nice new robe she'd had sewn for him. Finally Arthur got to Fred and Georges gift. He tried to tear the paper of and laughed when he realized he couldn't. He realized that this was trick paper and used a spell to remove it.  
  
To say that Arthur was pleased was an understatement. With the help of his son's they read the directions and connected it to the T.V. While they were doing this Molly cleaned up the paper from all the gifts, and looked at the DVD's that had come with it. She eyed the romance longingly. Arthur noticed. "If you would like we can watch that one first." He offered. Molly beamed. She loved a good romance. This one was called 'Sleepless In Seattle'. They all watched it amazed at how good the picture quality was. Molly cried. Arthur grinned and held her. She always' cried over romantic stories. Everyone exchanged knowing glances. It was time to go home. Arthur thanked every one profusely for their gifts and for coming, and then they all left.  
  
Within a blink of an eye Fred was back in his own flat. Now all he had to do was get through a week of work and he'd be going out to see Christine again. He'd always' enjoyed his work. Now it just seemed to drag.  
  
Fred made himself a cup of tea, and picked up the muggle newspaper to read. He liked to keep up on current events in the muggle world. He just about spilled his tea when he seen the headlines. Ray's Electronics had been broken into. The writer reported. 'Christine Adams was lucky this afternoon. She had left for lunch just before her shop had been broken into. She is uncertain how much of the inventory is missing however, over 400 quid had been taken from her till."  
  
Fred put down the paper and went to phone Christine. It rang four times before she answered it. Fred could tell she was upset immediately. " Are you going to be alright?" He asked after she gave him the details. Unfortunately she had lost four DVD players, Two TV's, a computer and the money from her till. Fortunately her insurance would cover the cost if the thieves were not caught. "I'll be fine. Thanks for asking."  
  
After Fred hung up the phone he aparated to his brothers flat. His brother was just drinking his tea and reading the paper when he got there. "Did you see the news about Christine's' store?" George nodded. "I just finished reading about it. Terrible! Just terrible! Fortunately we don't have to worry about such nonsense. I'd pity the poor idiot who tried to break into our store." Fred and George, though they did not sell magical pranks to the muggles, were not above using magical means to guard their inventory. George could see his brother was very upset. He could tell he cared about this girl, and so was concerned over her safety and loss. An idea came to him. "Fred. We could put a protective spell on her store if you like. One that would make people who wished to do ill will, to her or the store to turn away."  
  
Fred glanced at his brother. "That would take a lot of the worry of my mind. It sure is hard having a muggle for a friend. They are so vulnerable." Together they headed for Christine's store. They saw the damage and were horrified. The large plate glass window had been smashed and was now boarded up. They quickly performed the spell then swung by their own establishment to check up on it. Everything was as it should be. They subconsciously knew it would be, but after seeing the damage that the thieves had done to Christine's store, they couldn't resist checking up on it. After locking up again, they left for home.  
  
Fred cleaned up the mess he'd made of his paper and tea and headed for bed. Tomorrow would come soon enough. He would stop by Christine's store to talk to her in person. Until then he would try and get some sleep. 


	4. Rude Awakenings

Chapter 4  
  
Fred awoke to the sound of a crash in his sitting room. He jumped out of bed and ran to see what is was. There standing in his sitting room was his father. He always was a bit on the clumsy side with aparating. Arthur brushed off his clothes, and turned to see his son watching him. Arthur blushed.  
  
Fred grinned and gave his father a hug. "Hello father. What brings you here?" Arthur looked at his son. George had been over to the burrow, last night and had told them what they had done. From what he had said it sounded like Fred was interested in a girl. He wanted to hear it from Fred's own mouth.  
  
"I heard you cast a little spell on a certain ladies establishment last night. Would you care to elaborate?" Fred blushed. "A friend of mine had her establishment broken into yesterday while I was out having lunch with her. I didn't want to see her get hurt, so after I found out about it, George and I went over there and cast a protection spell on it. It's just a diversion one. It will only work on people who wish her ill."  
  
Arthur studied his sons face. According to George, Fred was acting all dreamy over this girl. It didn't bother him that she was a muggle, but Molly was concerned. There were other wizarding families who did not like the mixing of muggle blood into wizard blood. Even their own family had their own biases. Look at how his cousin who was an accountant was treated. And all those attacks that had been made in the past, on mixed marriages.  
  
Arthur sat down in the sitting room while Fred made tea. Fred suspected he was in for a long lecture so he may as well make breakfast while he was at it. That way at least he would get to eat hopefully before he had to leave to go to work.  
  
After every thing was made, he and his father sat down to a breakfast of sausages eggs, toast and tea. Fred noticed how similar he and his father were. They were both almost perpetually hungry, and no matter how much they ate they remained thin.  
  
His father finished eating and put his fork back on the plate. "Fred I have to ask you this question before I go. Are you genuinely interested in this girl?" Fred thought for a while. 'Was he? He didn't know yet him self.' "I can't truthfully answer that question for you father. I don't know myself yet. And she's a grown up woman father. Not some silly girl like I usually date." Arthur nodded. He had a pretty good idea of just how serious things were now. George was rite. He was enamored with this muggle.  
  
Arthur stood up from the table. "Well son. You know that what ever you choose to do we will stand behind you. Just be careful. There are those out there who are not so understanding, and they are more likely to take it out on her than on you." Arthur gave his son a hug and left the way he came.  
  
Fred stood staring at where his father had last been. He knew his father was rite. He would have to make up his mind as to how far he wanted to go with this friendship with Christine. The problem was, he wanted more than just a friend, and he didn't think Christine would go for anything that lacked commitment. His father was rite. He was treading on dangerous ground.  
  
Fred quickly cleaned up the kitchen, and washed and dressed for work. He would have to have a serious conversation with his brother. He did not blame him for going to their father, but it should have been up to him. Fred loved his brother dearly and vice versa, but they had an unwritten rule that they each stayed out of the others love lives. Fred dressed in a green and white shirt with gray slacks and socks. He put on his shoes, gave his hair a quick comb and was off to work.  
  
Unlike his brother George, Fred liked to walk to work. He only lived about five blocks from the store, and it gave him time to think of new innovative joke items to expand their business with. Fred arrived just as George was unlocking the door. He gave George a bit of a scowl, and George looked sheepish. He knew what was coming.  
  
"Listen Fred! I had to tell him! The ministry would have eventually wondered why a protection spell had been put on a muggle establishment. Can you imagine what kind of trouble that could have caused father? You know his ties to the muggle division in the ministry are always' under scrutiny. Especially with his love of muggle artifacts. What if they forced him to resign? And he only has five more years till he can retire."  
  
Fred's jaw dropped. George was rite of coarse. Still he was upset that he had interfered. He should have discussed it with him and let him deal with Father. Still he could understand why he did it, so instead of arguing with him, Fred just gave him a frustrated look. "Well I understand why you did it. But you should have discussed it with me and let me handle it." Fred gave George a shot on the shoulder. "Just you wait till you get a girl friend. I'll get you back." Fred winked at George. George feigned terror. He knew he was only joking. Now that they had cleared the air, they would return to their agreement of not interfering with each other's girl friends. God it would be a nightmare if they didn't. They just looked too much alike.  
  
Fred went behind the counter. "O.k. So what have we for today?" George pointed at a pile of forms. "We have some orders to fill for the store in Canada. It seems our first big invention canary creams is a big hit down there." Fred laughed. He still remembered the first time he had fed one to his brother Percy. Thinking of Percy, he must have heard about what he'd done. He wondered how he was reacting rite now. If he could only be a fly on the wall of Percys'office. 


	5. Unexpected News

Chapter Five  
  
Fred set to work on the paperwork his brother had shown him. Of the two of them, George was more client inclined, while Fred liked to work out inventory. This arrangement worked out fine for both of them. They both got to do what they liked.  
  
George would wheel and deal with the suppliers and people he supplied too, while Fred figured out the paper work and drew out the agreements. Together they had hired the people to run their other stores. They had to all be of wizard families, due to the inventory lists that they had to handle. It would not do for some unsuspecting muggle to order a bunch of magical jokes. How would they explain that to the ministry of magic. That for sure would cause problems for their father.  
  
Fred read the orders. Not much to fill with them. Mostly just requests for more canary creams, and exploding golf balls. They also had requests for their extreme wizard chess sets and ultimate exploding snap games. Business was good. They both had made quite a fortune. To tell the truth, they had enough money, that if his father wanted to retire early, they could give him enough so he could live comfortably for the rest of his natural life.  
  
The problem was their father did not want to retire, and they could understand why. If he left there would be few people left to keep Fudge in check. If there was one thing Arthur Weasely had in the ministry, it was friends. People generally liked him when they met him.  
  
After the incident when Harry was almost killed due to Fudges' refusal to acknowledge the return of Voldermort, people had started to turn against him. And with the Weasely family being such good friends with Harry, it put Fudge in an awkward position. He would love nothing better than to get rid of both his father and his brother from their posts. That how ever was not likely to happen. They were smart on Fudge. They both had collected enough supporters that if Fudge tried to fire either of them, there would be an uproar.  
  
Fred gathered the paper work and went to the storage room in the back. Even thought the building looked small outside, it had plenty of room inside. (Thanks to a room enlargement charm they had cast on it.) It didn't take him long to fill the orders. After packaging and shipping them he went back to the front of the store. His brother was talking to an older witch whom he'd never seen before.  
  
His brother noticed him immediately. "Fred! Over here! I want you to meet someone." Fred approached the older woman. She looked familiar. Fred shook her hand. George grinned. Fred began to worry. "You will never guess who this is!"  
  
The witch smiled at Fred and left him off the hook. "Hello Fred. I've heard a lot about you. I'm Christine's Grandmother!" You could have knocked Fred over with a feather. "But you're a." "Witch!" she answered for him.  
  
"I know. It's confusing. How would a muggle have a witch for a Grandmother? Well you see I married a man. A wonderful man! Only he was a muggle. My Daughter from him has very little talent as a witch and since she too married a muggle, Christine has no talent at all. At least as far as we know she doesn't. As a baby, we had her tested. The only thing that showed up unusually high was her ability to tell when things were going to happen ahead of time. Unfortunately, those predictions seldom involve her self. That is why I had to come meet you. I noticed the spell on her store, and when she mentioned your name last night at dinner, I recognized it. I had to come and meet you to see for myself!"  
  
Fred was amazed. So Christine did originate from a wizarding family. But she was a squib. Well, he could live with that. And he was sure it would relieve the minds of his parents a great deal also. Fred promised her that he had only the best intensions for her granddaughter. Promising to keep in touch, he escorted her to the door.  
  
George looked ready to bust a gut laughing. "A squib. I can't believe this. Oh wait till I tell the others. They will enjoy this!" The others that George was referring to were their old school chums, Lee Jordan, Harry, Oliver Wood, and of coarse he had to tell Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas. They all met regularly at the local wizard pub every Friday evening.  
  
Fred's ears turned a shade of red that almost matched his hair. If that crew heard about it, he'd never hear the end of it. Especially from Seamus. It wouldn't be so much that Christine was a squib that they would tease about. It was that he was interested in her. Fred gave his brother a frustrated look. He couldn't even use the rule about not interfering in each other's love lives, because technically this didn't. It was just embarrassing.  
  
Fred couldn't get overly upset with his brother. They were too close to have that happen. Besides. If their situations were reversed, he would probably do the same thing to George. Fred gave up trying to intimidate him with looks'. George took pity on him. "Hey. It's almost lunchtime. Why don't you go down to Christine's store and see how the clean up had come along.  
  
George was letting him off easy and Fred knew it. He took the opportunity anyway. At Ray's Electronics, things were starting to look better. The broken glass had been replaced, and a set of bars had been installed in all the windows. If only she knew she didn't need them. The spell he had placed on the store was still intact. No thief would trouble her.  
  
Fred entered the store. Christine was just handing a gentleman some money. It looked to be the man that had installed the window and bars. Fred looked around the store until the man left.  
  
When he heard the door close he turned to Christine. "So how are things today?" Christine looked and sounded better than he expected her to. "I will be fine. They caught the criminals but there was no sign of my inventory. The insurance company however has agreed to settle for the loss of the merchandise." Fred was happy for her. "That's good. Have you had lunch yet? Perhaps we could have a quick lunch at the pub next door?" Christine agreed and they both headed out to lunch. 


	6. Lunch Companion

Chapter Six  
Lunch Companion  
  
Fred listened to Christine. He loved the sound of her voice. He told her finally half way through their meal about her grandmother's visit. " I hope this won't come as a shock to you, but I met your grandmother earlier today. Nice lady. Very talented witch I hear." Christine stopped eating. Fred smiled. " Don't look so alarmed. Many of us who live around here are. Take my brother and I. We are. Wizards that is. We put a security spell on your store after the break in. Your grandmother noticed it rite away. And when you mentioned my name to her...well we are fairly well known in the wizarding community. She was happy to know that we knew each other. I like her. And I think she likes me as well." Fred blushed. Christine looked relieved.  
  
Fred looked at the lunch menu. " Let me treat today. Call it a combined celebration of you getting reimbursed, and our finding out that we are both from the same community." Christine looked puzzled. "Community?" she asked. Fred grinned. " Wizarding community. We are kindred spirits. Even if you yourself are not able to perform magic, the fact that you have a background of witches and wizards means a lot to me. It means I don't have to be so guarded around you for one thing." Christine nodded, finally understanding.  
  
They looked at the menus and decided to go for the fish and chips. Fred had a beer and Christine ordered tea. They had a very agreeable lunch. In Fred's opinion it ended to quickly.  
  
Fred looked at his watch. " Well I have to get back to the shop. George needs a break by now. I hope you will come by and visit us sometime. I enjoy talking to you. Christine smiled and assured him she would.  
  
Fred had a happy grin on his face when he entered the store he and his brother ran. George just grinned at him and said he was going for lunch. Fred felt a pang of embarrassment. "Where are you going?" he asked. George gave him a sly look and said "Oh I'm just heading up to The Leaky Cauldron to meet with Lee Jordan and a few others." He was out the door before Fred could make any comment.  
  
At 6:00p.m. sharp Fred and George closed up the shop. As was usual they gave each other a perfunctory salute and headed to each of their own apartments. Georges was farther out so he took the bus to get home. He liked the day bus. He said you met the most unusual characters on it. Fred thought to himself, if there are any people more unusual then them, the world must be a pretty weird place.  
  
Fred walked to his place. It was only a few blocks away, and it gave him time to think. He wondered about Christine. She was a nice girl. It helped that she was of his community as well. Her grandmother was quite the character. He could see her and his father getting along quite well. He had a thoughtful look on his face when he unlocked the door and entered his apartment, which was just as well considering who was waiting for him in it.  
  
Lee Jordan had been one of his best friends since his days at Hogwarts. He still was, even if he did have this annoying habit of popping in unannounced in his apartment. Today was no exception. Lee had on this maniacal grin. Fred knew he was in for a royal ribbing.  
  
Lee smiled and winked at Fred. " So you found yourself a squib. She must be pretty for you to go after her!" Fred's face turned red from embarrassment. "She's not a squib..exactly. She can tell what's going to happen in the future. Just not her own. She has been tested, and shown to have talent." Lee patted him on the shoulder. "I know. I'm just trying to get a reaction from you. George told us all about her. Shame about her store. I heard you and George did something to prevent that from happening again though."  
  
Fred went into details about the spell they had placed on the store to protect it in the future. Lee was impressed. A full force stunning spell would encase anyone who attempted to break the glass and enter that way. They would be unconscious for over fourteen hours before the spell would start to wear off. By that time the owners would be back and they would be in police custody.  
  
Lee shook his head. " It truly is a shame you didn't finish out your years at Hogwarts. You would have made an excellent teacher. And I'm sure they would have offered you the post. Professor Flitwick always did say it was a shame at least. He said you were an inspiring student. He even kept some of your work as an inspiration to others."  
  
Fred grinned. He remembered his leaving the grounds of Hogwarts, and the condition he left Hogwarts in. He had heard that Professor Flitwick had kept some of his 'work' cordoned off as an example because he was impressed by the ingenuity of it. Apparently according to Ron and the others there was even a sign posted as to who had created it and the date it was created. It was his and George's greatest accomplishment to date.  
  
Lee stayed for about an hour and then left. He said he had a hot date with Angelina that could not be put off. Fred wished him well and gratefully sat down on his couch. He had a lot to think about. He decided he would think about things tomorrow. He made himself a egg sandwich and after eating that, prepared for bed. Tomorrow always came to soon. Within minutes he had his clothes off and his teeth brushed. He wondered how long it would take for his parents to call him. 


	7. Family, The Ties That Bind Abd Gag

Fred Meets His Match Chapter Seven  
Family, The Ties That Bind And Gag.  
  
Fred woke up to what sounded like a small explosion in his apartment. The family had arrived. He got out of bed and quickly changed into his day clothes. When he entered what served as his living room and kitchen combined, he found his parents there. His mother was of course making breakfast, while his father was reading the muggle paper that Fred had delivered every day. Fred cleared his throat. "Good morning." His mother Molly just glared at him and continued to fry the eggs in the pan. His father Arthur lowered the newspaper for a moment and glanced at his son. Neither of them seemed inclined to begin the conversation Fred knew they had come for. Fred took a big breath and continued. " It look's like it's going to be a beautiful day today. By the way, why are you here?" He thought he might as well get the question out of the road. Molly smashed down the pan that she had been using and turned on him. " When were you going to tell us? It's all over the community that you are dating that Adams girl. She's little better than a squib you know." Arthur Weasley almost chocked. He looked uncomfortable. " Molly. Since when did you become prejudiced."? Fred suddenly felt angry. "She comes from a family of good standing. Why should it matter if she is not pure blood, or a squib? She is smart and has a pleasant personality. Her family is nice too. I met her grandmother. She is a full-blooded witch. A nice lady she was. Do you have anything against her too?" Molly did not respond but continued to fry the eggs in the pan. Arthur cleared his throat. "Listen Fred. Your mother is sensitive on subjects such as this. Especially with that cousin of ours. You know the accountant?" Fred cleared his throat. He knew whom they were talking about. Personally he thought he was a nice chap. Arthur continued. "Well you see, it's more that we heard it from a third source that got your mother upset now. We had always hoped you would tell us when you found someone you liked." Fred felt embarrassed. "Well to tell you the truth, I've only just been out with her a couple of times. Just for lunch really. We are just getting to know each other. I don't know if this is any thing serious yet or not." Arthur frowned. "It seemed serious enough for you to put a spell on her establishment. Why was it not serious enough to tell us?" Fred did not know how to answer that. After breakfast, Fred wished them goodbye. He quickly shaved, brushed his teeth and hair, and headed for work. He did not look forward to dealing with his other family members, and for some reason, he had a feeling a lot of them would be paying him a visit while he was at the store. Because his visit with his parents had delayed him somewhat, he decided to teleport to the storeroom in the back of the building they rented. He walked into the main part of the store. George was already there. He had his usual insipid grin on his face. "Good morning Fred! I can see you're just in a spiffy mood today!" Fred groaned. It would be like this for the rest of the day. He just knew it. As he expected, family members from all over seemed to crawl out of the woodwork in order to find out what was going on between him and the Adams girl as they all seemed to like to refer her as. Even Percy, the Pratt gave him a call on the phone to try and give him advice. Fred put him on speakerphone and him and George had a good chuckle after. They would not mention the phone call to any of the others. They knew if they did it might get back to their parents. Percy was still not on speaking terms with them after what had almost happened to Harry. Just before noon, Lee Jordan showed up. George handed over the responsibility of the store to Fred and left with him for lunch. Shortly after they left Christine showed up. She smiled as she opened the door. Fred was glad to see her. Finally he had someone to talk to who would not be asking questions he did not want to answer. She got to the point. "So. Have your family been asking you questions all day as well?" Fred laughed. "Yes and no. Half the time they were asking questions. The other half of the time they were trying to give me advice." Christine laughed. Fred loved to hear her laugh. It was an honest laugh. Not one of those fake-sounding ones that is made to sound good. This one came from the heart. Christine put a package on the counter. "Listen. You have treated me to lunch twice now. It's my turn. I thought maybe we could go to the park not far from here?" Fred smiled. "I'd love too. We would have to wait though. George left already." Christine looked disappointed. "Oh." Fred thought for a moment. "Why don't we just have it here? There is a table at the back. We can have our lunch there, without me having to leave the store." Christine nodded. "Sounds fine to me." Together they headed to the back of the store. As they were passing some of the more interesting stuff in the other room, Christine slowed down. "You know, maybe you can help me! My granny's birthday is coming up. I would like to get her something special. Unfortunately I do not have access to most magical establishments. Could you help me find something for her?" Fred straightened up hoping to be of help. "Gladly. What would you like me to find for you?" Christine blushed. "Well you see, granny has this odd sense of humour. She loves a good joke. I had heard that there is a new brand of wizard chess out there that have there own bad sense of humour. Instead of using weapons, they tell bad jokes to their opponents, and the opponent falls over from laughter." Fred was stumped. He would have to check into this. It sounded like if it were true, it would be a good item to have in stock. " I'll see what I can find." He promised. They sat down and ate. Christine had made turkey sandwiches. It was one of Fred's favourites. All to soon lunch was over. Christine was just leaving when George and Lee Jordan returned. Christine nodded to George as she left. Lee was silent for all of ten seconds. "Wow." He said. Fortunately that was all he said. 


End file.
